by Alice Bulmer | Feb 14, 2020 | Beginner ukulele, Community music, Ukulele teaching
Seven years ago I accidentally started a ukulele group. Here’s how it happened: One day my friends Jane and Paula said, “Let’s play ukulele!” And I said, “Why not!” That Friday evening we got together at Paula’s place. We had three chords, three ukuleles and a bottle...
by Alice Bulmer | Dec 3, 2019 | Beginner ukulele, Community music, Music general
“How many chords are there?” asked one of the people in my beginner ukulele class. The answer is, lots and lots. If you put one, two, three or four fingers down anywhere on a ukulele, in any shape, that will be some kind of chord. Ukulele chord charts typically...
by Alice Bulmer | Sep 8, 2019 | Beginner ukulele, Ukulele lessons, Ukulele teaching
Tips to get the most out of ukulele lessons The ukulele is the easiest and quickest instrument to learn from scratch. You can go from zero to playing confidently in just a few weeks. But don’t underestimate how much you’ll be learning along the way. Here are some tips...
by Alice Bulmer | May 7, 2019 | Beginner ukulele, Ukulele beginners, Ukulele lessons, Ukulele practice tips, Ukulele teaching
This post is about how to find time to practice the ukulele, in your already busy life. In order to do regular ukulele practice you’ll need to form a new habit. Some people find it very easy to take on a new habit. Others will find the week rushes by and they haven’t...
by Alice Bulmer | Apr 15, 2019 | Beginner ukulele, Community music, New Zealand music
This post is about Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi, one of New Zealand’s beloved waiata. (If you’re not a New Zealander, waiata is the Maori word for a song.) It’s such a great song. It has beautiful, inspiring, meaningful lyrics. “Stand up together, people.” It’s short, so it’s...
by Alice Bulmer | Apr 3, 2019 | Beginner ukulele, Music and wellbeing, Ukulele teaching
I’m a ukulele teacher. I’m not a singing teacher. But singing is central to the way I teach and play ukulele. For me, the whole purpose of playing the ukulele is to sing songs. Singing is one of the great routes to joy. And singing songs that you love makes it even...
